


Combat Lessons

by NascentSunbeam



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Padawan Lost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 12:08:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11230638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NascentSunbeam/pseuds/NascentSunbeam
Summary: “I don’t need lessons. I’ve fought plenty. I’ve hunted akul.”“But have you ever fought, unarmed, against a man whose only objective is to kill you?”***Rex gives Ahsoka lessons in the art of hand-to-hand combat. They come in handy.





	Combat Lessons

_“I don’t need lessons. I’ve fought plenty. I’ve hunted akul.”_

_"But have you ever fought, unarmed, against a man whose only objective is to kill you?”_

Ahsoka sprints ahead and climbs through the thick jungle foliage. _High ground_ , she thinks, _get to high ground._ Then wait.

Kalifa is not far behind, clambering over tree branches. The Trandoshan is even nearer behind her, stalking his prey. The Jedi youngling cannot get as high as Ahsoka and is cornered. Dar raises his gun.

Ahsoka is ready and waiting, precariously perched above him.

 _“Your arms_ _are beanpoles, kid,” he laughs at the face she makes and soothes her by saying, “but your legs pack all the punch you need, so to speak.”_

She jumps, kicking Dar in the face on the way down. He totters back.

Ahsoka stands protectively in front of Kalifa, fists raised. Dar aims, and Kalifa flees. But Ahsoka knows what’s coming.

_“Press your advantages,” his gold eyes focus on her, serious. They take their sparring stances. “Nothing dirty about using the Force when your life is on the line.”_

She dips into the Force and deflects the first shot, pushing Dar’s aim off-course. He tries again, and she does it once more.

“ _You_ _’re faster,” she dodges, “quicker,” she ducks, “and more often than not probably a better jumper.”_

With an angry snarl, Dar hurls the gun aside and lunges forward. His swing is wild, but it doesn’t matter; Ahsoka is prepared. She ducks low, and as he recoils from his miss, she jumps and lands a swift but fierce kick to his face. He staggers backward, stunned for a moment.

Then he kicks her legs from under her and pounces. He grabs her face, and slams her head. Her back lek rings with pain from the contact. He digs his claws into her montrals, his thick scaly hands blocking her airways.

She’s landed face up, and her legs crouch between herself and Dar –  

“ _If they manage to get you on your back,_ _” they both lay on the training mat as she mimics his pose, “keep your legs up best you can and –“_

\- and she extends her legs to fling the Trandoshan over her body. He rolls. She uses this chance to run, but he is long. He catches her ankle. She struggles, slithering before slipping out of his grip. She shifts into a battle stance.

Dar stands. He’s injured and surprised at the fight she’s putting up, but now his blood boils. They circle each other.

“ _Stay low._ _” She does, her eyes trained on him as he prowls. Even as they spar, he coaches her._

The Trandoshan lunges, but Ahsoka’s already on the move.

_“Use your environment. Hold nothing back.”_

Leaping behind Dar, she uses the solid mass of the tree now behind her to give her jump some extra power. She launches herself onto his back and -

“ _Claw, bite, scratch if you have to._ _”_

\- using both fists she punches the flesh below his jawbone, knocking him windless. Enraged, he grabs and slams her to the ground. On her back once more, she uses her powerful legs to launch him as they both tumble off the branch of the giant jungle tree.

She clings on to the vines, suspended.

He falls, landing impaled on a spike.

She breathes.

* * *

Rex does his best to keep his emotions – _terror, relief, pride_ – in check as he listens to Ahsoka recount her ordeal. Despite having been kidnapped by Trandoshans to be hunted for sport, his Commander chats animatedly, recalling with vivid detail the play-by-play of her adventure. She doesn’t even seem all that affected, though he if he knows her (and he does) there’s way more to it than she’s letting on.

But that doesn't matter now, because if he thinks about that his mask will slip, and she’ll know something’s wrong. He instead nods along and listens as she describes how she beat the far bigger Trandoshan.

“And then, I jumped on his back and-” she mimed the action of double-punching the karking lizard, and it does make Rex smile.

Then he thinks again about the circumstance and the feeling of horror returns.

She looks at him sharply, and her blue eyes narrow.

“Rex?”

“Sir?”

“Rex, I can _feel_ you freaking out.”

He winces. Okay, so he’s not doing a great job tamping down on his emotions; it’s unfortunate that Ahsoka is particularly attuned to _him_.

So, she knows what’s going on. She gives Rex a reassuring smile and then, tentatively, steps forward and wraps her arms around his torso.

“It’s okay now, I’m here, and I’m safe.” She squeezes him, “Thanks for saving me, Rexter.” He’s surprised, but at the same time, he feels relief wash over him because she’s at least partially right: she is safe. He lets himself return her embrace, for a moment, but he doesn’t stop himself from correcting her.

“Commander, I didn’t save you - that was all you.”

“Yeah, but you showed me all those moves.” She pulls away from him and winks. “I really do have your experience to thank.”

He smiles a rare, full smile. “Well, thank _you,_ Commander.” His eyes twinkle. “I remember you resisting those combat lessons,” he teases.

She flushes slightly, her lekku darkening, but she rolls her eyes playfully. “Yeah, yeah. You were right. I admit it. You give great advice.”

His trademark grin returns, and his eyes take on a glint of cocksureness as he prepares to press _his_ advantage. “I’m so glad you think that, Commander. Now, about getting you to wear some armor…”

 


End file.
